Systems and methods for securely using cloud services on on-premises data

ABSTRACT

The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for providing cloud-based services securely to on-premises networks or other infrastructure. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to systems and methods for enriching first-party data (e.g., data collected directly by an on-premises server) stored within on-premises networks by enabling the on-premises networks to retrieve and process third-party data stored on cloud-based networks. As a technical benefit, cloud-based services can be performed on the first-party data within the on-premises networks.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims priority of U.S. Provisional Patent ApplicationNo. 62/912,013 filed Oct. 7, 2019, entitled SYSTEMS AND METHODS FORSECURELY USING CLOUD SERVICES ON-PREMISES DATA”, which is herebyincorporated by reference in its entirety for all purposes.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to systems and methods for enablingon-premises networks or virtual private cloud networks to executecloud-based services on first-party data stored securely within thedomain of the on-premises networks or the virtual private cloudnetworks. More particularly, the present disclosure relates to systemsand methods for enriching first-party user records by enablingon-premises networks or virtual private cloud networks to linkingfirst-party user records to certain third-party user records stored oncloud-based networks.

BACKGROUND

Cloud-based networks can provide data management services to companies.Data management in the web analytics space, however, creates severaltechnical challenges relating to data security and privacy. For example,a cloud-based network may be configured to provide data analytics toolsat a large scale. Companies seeking to use the analytical tools mayprovide the cloud-based network with certain first-party data (e.g.,user data collected by a company directly from its owned webpage'svisitors or owned mobile application's users, and for which the user hasprovided consent), so that the cloud-based network can process thefirst-party data using the analytical tools. The first-party dataprovided by the company is often a limited subset of all availablefirst-party data collected by the company because certain first-partydata cannot be transferred to the cloud-based network without violatingprivacy laws (e.g., when data is collected from webpage or mobileapplication visitors who have not provided consent to transfer thefirst-party data to a cloud network).

Additionally, storing first-party data of multiple different andunrelated companies within a cloud network, however, creates significantchallenges. Securely and reliably isolating the storage of first-partydata for each of the multiple different companies is a significanttechnical challenge. For example, performing analytics on thefirst-party data without combining that first-party data with otherfirst-party data of a different company is technically difficult toachieve, especially as the scale and complexity of cloud-based datastorage increases at a fast pace and companies from amongst all industryverticals are digitally transforming their customer experiencecapabilities. Further, storing first-party data and third-party data(e.g., collected by the cloud-based network and de-identified) in acommon data store can potentially create a risk of mixing thefirst-party data with the third-party data in a manner that violatesprivacy standards or laws.

SUMMARY

Certain aspects and features of the present disclosure may relate toproviding an on-premises network with the capability to securely performcloud services on sensitive information, such as first-party user data,stored locally within the on-premises network. An on-premises networkmay be any network (e.g., a public or private network, or a virtualprivate cloud-based network) operated by a company. Performing cloudservices on first-party user data locally stored in on-premises networkprovides enhanced security and data privacy because the first-party userdata is not exchanged to external systems. Additionally, certain aspectsof the present disclosure enable companies to control the user datacollection and profile linkages to other first-, second-, or third-partyuser data stored in cloud networks. For example, from the perspective ofthe on-premises network, the entire pool of first-party user data andany linked first-, second-, or third-party user data is accessiblewithin a single, local domain (e.g., the domain of the on-premisesnetwork).

First-party data may be collected by the on-premises network directlyfrom interactions between the company's webpage and user devicesaccessing the webpage. Metadata associated with the interactions may bestored as first-party user data within the on-premises network. Theon-premises network may maintain exclusive control of the cloud-basedservices performed on the first-party user data that is stored withinthe on-premises network. Thus, the on-premises network can securely makeuse of cloud-based services, such as data management and web analytics,on the first-party data without uploading the first-party data to acloud network. As a non-limiting example, a cloud service may includethe functionality of enriching first-party user profiles byprobabilistically linking the first-party user profiles to certainthird-party user data associated with third-party user profiles. Theenriched first-party user profiles may be transformed into first-partyID graphs, such that the first-party ID graph represents other userattributes included in the third-party data.

The on-premises network may be independent of the cloud-based networkthat provides the cloud-based services. The cloud-based network mayenable companies to perform cloud-based services on third-party datastored within the cloud-based network (e.g., aggregated andde-identified online behavior data that cannot be used, as it exists, toidentify an individual user or user device). First-party data may bedata collected by the company directly from interactions between thecompany's webpage and the webpage's visitors. First-party data oftenincludes personally-identifiable information (PII), and thus, triggerscertain safeguards provided by privacy laws. The collected first-partydata cannot be transferred to external systems without user consent.Certain embodiments provide a technical solution to the technicalconstraints imposed by privacy laws by enabling the on-premises networkexclusive control of the cloud-based services performed on thefirst-party data that is stored within the on-premises network. Thus, asan advantage, the first-party data collected by a company no longerneeds to be uploaded to the cloud-based network and shared data storesto make use of the cloud-based services. Further, according to certainembodiments, companies can perform the cloud-based services on theentire collection of first-party data, whereas, in previous solutions,companies could only perform cloud-based services on a limited subset offirst-party data because only that limited subset of first-party datacould be uploaded to the cloud-based network without violating privacylaws.

In some implementations, the cloud-based network (e.g., Oracle DataCloud (ODC)) may transmit the executable code underlying the cloud-basedservices to the on-premises network for execution. Executing theexecutable code (e.g., by an on-premises server within the on-premisesnetwork) may cause a private pixel server to be configured within theon-premises network. The private pixel network may enable the company totrack activity on the company's webpage by collecting and storingfirst-party data securely within the on-premises network (e.g., at afirst-party profile database configured as a result of executing theexecutable code). Further, executing the executable code may cause aninterface to be generated. The interface may enable a user of thecompany (e.g., an employee of the customer of Oracle) to control orconfigure the performance of one or more cloud-based services (e.g.,analytical processes, such as business intelligence analytical tools) onthe first-party data stored within the on-premises network (e.g., acustomer-controlled storage, network, and computing infrastructure). Forexample, executing the executable code may cause an administrativecontrol layer of the cloud-based services to be established, whichexclusively enables the user to define configurations of the cloud-basedservices. The executable code may generate an interface that providesthe user with access to the administrative control layer. In someimplementations, the interface may enable the user to configure theprivate pixel server by generating access keys that provide access tothe first-party data stored within the on-premises network. The accesskeys may not be shared with the cloud-based network or the cloud-basedservices, and thus, the first-party data stored within the on-premisesnetwork cannot be accessed outside of the on-premises network.

In some implementations, the executable code can configure anapplication programming interface (API) that enables the on-premisesnetwork associated with the company to enrich the collected first-partydata by retrieving certain anonymous third-party data from thecloud-based network. Enriching the first-party data may includeretrieving from the cloud-based network third party data associated withone or more third-party user IDs that are linked to a first-party userID, and extending a first-party user profile associated with thefirst-party user ID by appending the third-party data. The establishedlink may be revocable. As an illustrative example, a mobile device mayaccess the company's webpage, the company's mobile application, or thecompany's mobile webpage. The private pixel server associated with theweb server hosting the company's webpage may generate an anonymousmobile device ID representing the mobile device is browsing session onthe company's webpage. The web server may collect certain data from themobile device's browsing session (e.g., Internet Protocol (IP) address,browser version, geographical location, and other suitable andregionally permissible information). The collected data may be stored ata first-party profile database within the on-premises network. Thefirst-party profile database may be configured because of executing theexecutable code within the on-premises network. Further, the collecteddata may be stored at the first-party profile database in associationwith the anonymous mobile device ID. The on-premises network mayinitiate a call directly to the cloud-based network using the API. Thecall may correspond to a request to the cloud-based network for anythird-party user IDs or third-party data associated with the anonymousmobile device ID. In this example, the webpage visitor associated withthe anonymous mobile device ID may have provided consent to collect andprocess browsing data. The request may also include a portion of thefirst-party user data associated with the anonymous mobile device ID.The webpage visitor may have consented to the transmission of theportion of the first-party data to the cloud-based network forprocessing. The cloud-based network may query the common profile datastore for any known linked third-party user IDs using deterministiclinkage techniques and the portion of the first-party data. Identifyingthird-party user IDs that are linked to the anonymous mobile device IDmay involve a probabilistic determination that the third-party user IDsand the anonymous mobile device ID correspond to the same user. Theprobabilistic determination may include a triangulation technique thatis associated with a confidence score, but safely short ofre-identification of a specific user, thus complying with intent ofprivacy rules and regulations. The larger the size of the portion of thefirst-party data that is transmitted to the cloud-based network, thegreater the confidence will be in probabilistically determining linkedthird-party user IDs. In return, the cloud-based network may transmitany identified third-party user IDs that are deterministically linked tothe anonymous mobile device ID. The third-party data associated with thelinked third-party user IDs may also be transmitted from the cloud-basednetwork to the on-premises network using the API. The on-premisesnetwork may now enrich the first-party data associated with theanonymous mobile device ID using the third-party data. For example,enriching the first-party data may include linking the third-party dataassociated with the linked third-party user IDs to the first-party IDgraph of the anonymous mobile device ID, such that the first-party IDgraph represents any other characteristics included in the third-partydata, such as other devices used by the user operating the mobiledevice. Enriching the first-party data may also include extending thefirst-party user profile associated with the anonymous mobile device IDby appending the third-party data to the profile, so that any futureprocessing of the first-party user profile includes the third-partydata. As another example, the third-party data may be used to update thefirst-party data. The updating may be based at least in part on theestablished link between the first-party user ID and the one or morethird-party user IDs.

In some implementations, executing the executable code on an on-premisesserver within the on-premises network may generate an interface with anAPI that is configured to exchange data between the on-premises networkand the cloud-based network. As an illustrative example, the user mayuse the interface to select a portion of the first-party data that canbe uploaded to the cloud-based network, and to select another portion ofthe first-party data that is not to be uploaded to the cloud-basednetwork, but rather, that is not transferred outside of the on-premisesnetwork. The portion of the first-party data that is selected or flaggedas uploadable data may include first-party data for which the underlyingwebpage visitors provided consent to share or transfer outside of theon-premises network. For example, first-party data may include a stringof a set of user features collected from webpage visitors, mobile appvisitors, or mobile webpage visitors (e.g., IP address or geographiclocation, device information, family size, sports of interest, etc.). Asubset of the set of user features may be uploaded to the cloud-basednetwork, given that the webpage visitor from which the subset of userfeatures was collected provided consent to upload the data. The subsetof user features of the first-party data may be processed by thecloud-based network to map the subset of user features to third-partyuser IDs or to third-party data (e.g., including one or more userfeatures). The mapping between the subset of user features from thefirst-party data and the third-party user IDs or third-party data may beperformed using probabilistic techniques for matching user profiles.When the cloud-based network identifies third-party user IDs orthird-party data that are matched to or are mapped to the subset of userfeatures of the first-party data, the cloud-based network generates adata set that includes the identified third-party user IDs orthird-party data and a confidence score. The confidence score indicatesa probability that the third-party user IDs or the third-party datacorresponds to the same webpage visitor as the webpage visitorassociated with the subset of user features from the first-party data.In some implementations, the API may be configured as a real-time APIthat can continuously deliver linked third-party data to the on-premisesnetwork. For example, as new third-party data is collected or as thethird-party data changes over time due to online activity, thethird-party user IDs and the third-party data that are mapped to afirst-party user ID or mapped to a subset of user features of thefirst-party data can be transmitted to the on-premises network using theAPI. The on-premises network may obtain consent and permissions from oneor more webpage visitors to transfer their first-party data to thecloud-based network for processing. The API enables the user to uploadfirst-party data for which a consent is stored within the on-premisesnetwork. In this implementation, the webpage visitors associated withthe uploaded first-party data may have provided their consent (inadvance) to transfer their first-party data to the cloud-based networkfor further processing.

In some implementations, the interface may be configured to enable theuser (e.g., the employee of the company) to define settings formonitoring the use of the API for billing purposes. As an illustrativeexample, the user may define a maximum value (e.g., a billing cap orthreshold) for billing the company for interacting with the cloud-basednetwork. Each instance the on-premises network requests the cloud-basednetwork for third-party user IDs that are linked to one or morefirst-party user IDs, the company may be charged a fee. When the maximumvalue has been charged to the company over multiple API requests, thecloud-based network may inhibit, block or deny any future requests forthird-party data from the on-premises network. In some implementations,a request from the on-premises network may be detected when theon-premises uploads a subset of user features of first-party data to thecloud-based network using the API. The upload may be detected at thecloud-based network and tracked. For example, before the cloud-basednetwork performs a mapping of the subset of user features of thefirst-party data to the third-party data, the cloud-based network mayrequest a confirmation from an accounting system within the cloud-basednetwork. The request for confirmation may request whether or not thecloud-based network is authorized to proceed with mapping thefirst-party data with the third-party data for the company. When theaccounting system receives the request, the accounting system may accessa database that stores the previous instances in which the companyrequested a mapping of first-party user IDs to third-party user IDs. Theaccounting system may store the maximum value defined by the user of thecompany and determine whether the maximum value has been met. If themaximum value has already been charged to the company or if theprocessing of the present request for third-party data would cause themaximum value charged to be exceeded, then the accounting system mayrespond to the request for confirmation with a negative responseindicating that the cloud-based network cannot proceed with completingthe mapping of first-party user IDs to third-party data. If, however,the maximum value charged after mapping the first-party user IDs to thethird-party data would not be exceeded, then the accounting system mayrespond to the request for confirmation with a positive responseindicating that the that the cloud-based network can proceed. In someimplementations, the user may modify the maximum value at any time, aslong as the maximum value has not already been reached.

In some implementations, the interface accessible from within theon-premises network may enable the user to select one or morecloud-based services to perform on the first-party data stored withinthe on-premises network. Additionally, the interface may enable the userto define configuration settings of one or more of the cloud-basedservices. As an illustrative example, the interface may provide the userwith access to a first-party workspace, in which the user can controland configure the performance of the cloud-based services. Thefirst-party workspace may be a networking environment, which stores theconfigurations of the various cloud-based services and enables the userto select cloud-based services to perform and to modify theconfigurations of the cloud-based services. The first party workspacemay enable the user to access first-party data stored within theon-premises network and to select a portion of the first-party data forwhich consent has been provided to upload to the cloud-based network.The user may also select a portion of the first-party data that cannotor should not be uploaded to the cloud-based network. The first-partyworkspace may also be configured to automatically detect or filter thefirst-party data for which a consent has been stored, so that the usercan easily view the first-party data that can be uploaded to thecloud-based network. The first-party workspace may also enable the userto select or download a suite of analytical tools into the on-premisesnetwork, if the suite of analytical tools is not already included in theexecutable code received from the cloud-based network. As anotherillustrative example, the user can define the configuration settings fora churn analysis, and then initiate the performance of the churnanalysis on at least a portion of the first-party data. Additionally,the user can select one or more first-party user IDs to target in amarketing campaign. For example, the first-party workspace may compilethe selected first-party user IDs into a data set together with thethird-party data that is linked to the selected first-party IDs. Thecompiled data set (e.g., the first-party user IDs and the linkedthird-party user IDs) can then be transmitted to external systems, suchas a social media network to be the subject of a marketing campaign. Inthis example, the webpage visitors associated with the first-party userIDs may have provided consent in advance to be the subject of marketingcampaigns. Additionally, the first-party workspace may enable the userto perform the selected cloud-based services. In some implementations,performing the cloud-based services may cause the on-premises network totransmit a request call using the API to the cloud-based network for thecode underlying the selected cloud-based service. The cloud-basednetwork may transmit the code underlying the selected cloud-basedservices back to the on-premises network for execution using thefirst-party data stored within the on-premises network. In someimplementations, the code underlying the selected cloud-based servicemay be stored within the on-premises network. In either implementation,the on-premises may transmit calls to the cloud-based network toretrieve certain third-party data on-demand as required by thecloud-based service. The third-party data may be received back at theon-premises network using the API, and the first-party workspace maylink the received third-party data to the linked first party data.

As a technical advantage, data security is enhanced because theon-premises network can leverage cloud-based services on data locatedwithin the boundary of the on-premises network. As an added benefit, theanalytical tools provided by the cloud-based network can be performed onthe entire set of first-party data, in some cases regardless of whetherwebsite visitors have provided consent, because the first-party data maynot be transferred outside of the on-premises network.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The specification makes reference to the following appended figures, inwhich use of like reference numerals in different figures is intended toillustrate like or analogous components.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a networkenvironment, according to some aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating another example of a networkenvironment, according to some aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a networkenvironment, in which an entity-controlled cloud service can beperformed on first-party data stored within an on-premises network,according to some aspects of the present disclosure.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a networkenvironment, in which user records are exchanged between an on-premisesnetwork and a cloud network, according to some aspects of the presentdisclosure.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process for enrichingfirst-party data stored within an on-premises network with third-partydata stored within a cloud-based network, according to some aspects.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process for linkingthird-party user records stored in a cloud network with first-party userrecords stored in an on-premises network, according to some aspects ofthe present disclosure.

FIG. 7 is a simplified diagram illustrating a distributed system forimplementing one of the embodiments.

FIG. 8 is a simplified block diagram illustrating one or more componentsof a system environment.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary computer system, in which variousembodiments of the present invention may be implemented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

FIG. 1 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a networkenvironment, according to some aspects of the present disclosure.Network environment 100 can include cloud network 110, on-premisesnetwork 140, network 160 and user device 150. In some implementations,cloud network 110 can be a cloud-based network that includes datamanagement system 120. Data management system 120 can be configured toexecute one or more cloud services, such as business intelligenceanalytics and other suitable web analytics functionality. While userdevice 150 is illustrated as being a mobile computing device (e.g., asmartphone), it will be appreciated that user device 150 can be anyportable (e.g., laptop, tablet computer, etc.) or non-portable (e.g.,desktop computer, electronic kiosk, etc.) computing device. It will alsobe appreciated that any number of user devices (of any type) can beincluded in network environment 100. User device 150 can communicatewith on-premises network 140 through network 160 (e.g., any public orprivate network, such as the Internet). For example, user device 150 canconnect to network 160 using gateway 170, which enables the user device150 to interact with on-premises network 140 through network 160.

User device 150 can be operated by a user. For example, user device 150may be operated by the user to interact or communicate with on-premisesnetwork 140. User device 150 may interact with the on-premises network140 to, for example, manage a website associated with the on-premisesnetwork 140 or to perform functionality, such as web analytics, onfirst-party user data collected by the on-premises network 140. Thefirst-party user data can be any information relating to a websitevisitor or to a computing device associated with the website visitor. Incertain circumstances, web analytics functionality that can be performedby on-premises network 140 may be limited, given that the scope of theresults of the web analytics is based on the scope of the first-partyuser data collected by the on-premises network 140. To enhance the userdata available for analyzing, the on-premises network 140 cancommunicate with data management system 120 of the cloud network 110.For example, data management system 120 may transmit cloud-basedsoftware (e.g., executable code) to on-premises network 140. Thecloud-based software may, when executed at the on-premises network 140,provide the on-premises network 140 with the capability to securelyperform cloud-based services on first-party data stored locally withinthe on-premises network 140.

Additionally, the cloud-based software may enable on-premises network140 to maintain exclusive control of the cloud-based services performedon the first-party data that is stored within the on-premises network140. Thus, the on-premises network can securely make use of cloud-basedservices, such as data management and web analytics, on the first-partydata without uploading the first-party data to cloud network 110.

In some implementations, the cloud-based services may enable on-premisesnetwork 140 to perform certain cloud-based services on user data (e.g.,third-party user data, which includes aggregated and de-identifiedonline behavior data that cannot be used, as it exists, to identify anindividual user or user device) stored within the data store 130included in the cloud network 110. Data store 130 can store any type ofuser data, including first-party user data, second-party user data, orthird-party user data. The cloud-based services may also map certainfirst-party user data to at least a portion of the third-party user datastored in data store 130 to provide enriched user data to on-premisesnetwork 140 for enhanced web analytics performed directly at the serverswithin on-premises network 140.

FIG. 2 is a block diagram illustrating another example of a networkenvironment for securely providing cloud services to on-premisesnetworks for performing the cloud services on first-party data storedlocally within the on-premises networks. Network environment 200 mayinclude user device 240, cloud network 110, and on-premises network 140.Cloud network 110 may be a cloud-based network (as illustrated inFIG. 1) that includes cloud-based data management system 120 (e.g.,Oracle Data Cloud). Cloud-based data management system 120 may beconfigured to execute cloud services 210 on first-, second-, orthird-party data stored in data store 130 within cloud network 110.Cloud services 210 may be performed by executing source code of one ormore applications. Further, cloud services 210 may provide certainfunctionality to end users. For example, the functionality provided bycloud services 210 can include business intelligence analytics, mappingfirst-party user IDs to one or more third-party user IDs and third-partydata stored in data store 130, generating first-party ID graphs, andother suitable web analytics functionality.

On-premises network 140 may transmit a digital communication to datamanagement system 120. Transmitting the digital communication can beinitiated or triggered by a user operating a user device interactingwith on-premises network 140, such as user device 150 illustrated inFIG. 1. The digital communication may represent a request to enableon-premises network 140 to perform one or more cloud services 210 usingfirst-party data stored locally at on-premises network 140 withoutuploading the first-party data to cloud network 110. Cloud-based datamanagement system 120 may transmit executable code (e.g., cloud-basedsoftware) to on-premises network 140. The executable code may, whenexecuted by a server that is connected locally within the on-premisesnetwork 140, cause the configuration of private pixel server 220 andfirst-party data store 230. Further, executing the executable code by aserver that is locally connected within on-premises network 140 maycause an interface to be generated and accessible to a user device, suchas user device 150. The interface can be navigated by a user of theon-premises network 140. The interface can enable the user to selectand/or configure certain cloud-based services 210 to be available forperforming on the first-party data stored in first-party data store 230,which is local to on-premises network 140. The selected cloud services210 can be performed locally within on-premises network 140, withoutneeding to upload the first-party data to data management system 120. Insome implementations, the first-party data stored in the first-partyprofile data store 230 may not be accessible to any computing devicewithin the cloud network 110, however, the one or more cloud services210 may be performed on the first-party data by computing devices withinon-premises network 140.

On-premises network 140 may be a public, private, virtual privatecloud-based network, or other cloud-based network that is independentfrom cloud network 110. To illustrate and only as a non-limitingexample, on-premises network 140 may be a private network of a company.The private network can operate (e.g., host) the company's webpage(s).On-premises network 140 may include a private pixel server 220 thatmonitors and facilitates the collection of data from browsers of webpagevisitors to the company's webpage(s). On-premises network 140 may alsoinclude first-party data store 230. When user device 240 loads thewebpage hosted by the company (e.g., by accessing the company's webserver), the loading of the webpage is detected by private pixel server220. Private pixel server 220 then collects data from variousinteractions between user device 240 and the company's webpage.Non-limiting examples of data that can be collected directly from aninteraction between user device 240 and the company's webpage mayinclude IP address, device information, browser type, browser version,type and version of Operating System, timestamps of interactions, screenresolution, any clicks or taps, content viewed, webpages access, and anyother suitable data. The private pixel server 220 may store thecollected first-party data in first-party data store 230 in associationwith a first-party user ID. The first-party user ID can be a uniqueidentifier of a known user (e.g., when a user logs into the company'swebpage, then the company knows the exact identity of the user) or maybe an anonymous identifier (e.g., a mobile device user accessing thecompany's webpage and not logging in, and thus, the company does notknow exactly the identity of the user). An example of using first-partydata may include building relationships with specific customers,presenting privacy contracts to customers, managing customer dataregardless of contract, sharing customer data with others according toterms on a person-by-person basis, and so on. An example of usingthird-party data may include managing customer data from one or avariety of first parties, sharing only according to terms of contractfrom first-party, also share summaries of data (e.g., demographics) thatdo not identify individuals but are useful when making judgments aboutlarger sets of data encompassing a variety of individuals, for example,those in a region. Mapping between individual user profiles and summarydemographic information to individual profiles known by the first partyto belong to a certain demographic can enrich user profiles.

FIG. 3 is a block diagraph illustrating another network environment 300for providing cloud-based services to on-premises network 140 to enableon-premises network to perform cloud services (e.g., cloud services 210)on first-party data stored within the on-premises network 140. Networkenvironment 300 may include cloud network 110, on-premises network 140,and user device 310. User device 310 can be any end user device that isoperated to access a company's webpage (e.g., by accessing the company'sweb server(s) to load the webpage). Upon loading the webpage on userdevice 310, private pixel server 220 detects the interactions betweenuser device 310 and the webpage. Private pixel server 220 can thencollect data associated with the interactions between user device 310and the webpage. For example, the collected data includes the IPaddress, geographic location, device information, browser version, linksselected, time on webpages, consent events, on-site behaviorinformation, and other suitable data from interactions between userdevice 310 and the webpage. The user data collected by private pixelserver 220 can be stored in first-party data store 230, which is localto on-premises network 140.

Once private pixel server 220 and first-party data store 230 areestablished, cloud services 210 can be performed on the first-party datastored in first-party data store 230. As a non-limiting example, a cloudservice provides functionality for linking at least a portion offirst-party data stored in first-party data store 230 with a portion ofthird-party data stored in data store 130 of cloud network 110. Thefunctionality of the cloud service can identify third-party data thatmatches first-party user profiles of the first-party user data using oneor more first-party-to-third-party linkage techniques. The identitytechniques may include identity linkage techniques, probabilisticlinkage techniques, deterministic linkage techniques, or any othersuitable linkage techniques for linking first-party user data withthird-party user data. In some implementations, cloud network 110 mayperform the linkage techniques. Any third-party user data that isidentified as matching the first-party user data may be transmitted fromcloud network 110 to on-premises network 140, for example, using anApplication Programming Interface (API).

In some implementations, a portion of a first-party user record of thefirst-party user data may be uploaded to cloud network 110 to performthe probabilistic user profile linkages between the first-party userrecord and third-party user data stored in data store 130. For example,a subset of non-unique data elements of the set of data elements in afirst-party user record is uploaded to cloud network 110 to perform theuser profile linkage techniques.

In some implementations, private pixel server 220 and first-party datastore 230 may be configured in a virtual private cloud that is specificto on-premises network 140. In these implementations, instead ofconfiguring private pixel server 220 and first-party data store 230locally within on-premises network 140, the virtual private cloud may beaccessible by components (e.g., servers) or users of on-premises network140, but not accessible by cloud network 110. The virtual private cloudmay use end-to-end encryption techniques for network isolation andtraffic isolation, so that only on-premises network 140 (and users orservers thereof) can access the private pixel server 220 or thefirst-party data store 230.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram illustrating an example of a networkenvironment 400, in which user records are exchanged between on-premisesnetwork 140 and cloud network 110, according to some aspects of thepresent disclosure. In some implementations, a cloud service 210 can beconfigured to perform profile linkage techniques, which identifythird-party user data that probabilistically or deterministicallymatches specific first-party user records. When third-party user data isidentified using the linkage techniques, an API may be used to transmitthe identified third-party user data from cloud network 110 toon-premises network 140 for further processing (e.g., to include in anenriched first party ID graph). For example, the identified third-partyuser data is transmitted from cloud network 110 to on-premises network140 using API 420-B.

In some implementations, the third-party user data that is transmittedfrom cloud network 110 to on-premises network 140 can be metered (e.g.,monitored or tracked for the purpose of charging the company associatedwith on-premises network 140). For example, profile meter 410-A isimplemented using executable code that, when executed by a server,tracks the requests for third-party user data that are transmitted outof on-premises network 140 using API 420-A (e.g., representing thecompany's usage statistics). Cloud network 110 can also track responsesto the requests received from on-premises network 140. At a regular orirregular time interval (e.g., monthly), the number of requests capturedby profile meter 410-A can be reconciled with the number of responsescaptured by profile meter 410-B using reconciliation system 430. In someimplementations, reconciliation system 430 can compare the valuegenerated by profile meter 410-A with the value generated by profilemeter 410-B. A fee is then charged to the company associated withon-premises network 140 based on the reconciled value. In someimplementations, if the reconciliation system 430 determines that thevalue generated by profile meter 410-A matches the value generated byprofile meter 410-B, then reconciliation system 430 (or any otherhardware component) can generate an invoice with the fee for chargingthe company associated with on-premises network 140. If the valuegenerated by profile meter 410-A does not match the value generated byprofile meter 410-B, then reconciliation system 430 may perform one ormore tasks for selecting a value for including in the invoice. Forexample, reconciliation system 430 may select the highest or lowestvalue from amongst the value generated by profile meter 410-A and thevalue generated by profile meter 410-B. Advantageously, when the scopeof the data grows much larger (e.g., to a big-data scale),reconciliation system 430 enables the metering to be performed withaccuracy and consistency, even if there are small discrepancies betweenthe values generated by profile meter 410-A, which are at a big-datascale, and the values generated by profile meter 410-B, which are alsoat a big-data scale.

The data supply chain for a company can be complex, for example, becausethe user data received by the company can include first-party user datafrom a first source (e.g., webpage visitors visiting the company'swebpage directly), second-party user data from a second source (e.g.,user data received from vendors), and third-party data from a thirdsource (e.g., user data received from cloud network 110). According tocertain implementations, performing metering of user data in the datasupply chain can keep track of the distribution of the contributions ofuser data from each of the first source, the second source, and thethird source. Further, the metering described herein can be performed todetermine, for example, how much third-party user data was received aton-premises network 140 and used in a marketing campaign. For example,profile meter 410-A can perform metering of user data received from thefirst source (e.g., directly from the company's private pixel server),the second source (e.g., from a vendor), and the third source (e.g.,cloud network 110). In some implementations, profile meter 410-A mayperform metering for each of the first source, the second source, andthe third source. In other implementations, a profile meter may beconfigured for each of the first source, the second source, and thethird source. It will be appreciated that any number of sources and anytype of source (e.g., first-party, second-party, or third-party) can beused in an implementation.

In some implementations, profile meter 410-A and/or profile meter 410-Bmay be deployed using executable code. The API can exchange the userdata between on-premises network 140 and cloud network 110. Exchanginguser data between, for example, cloud network 110 and on-premisesnetwork 140 can trigger the code execution to calculate the invoiceamount or the spend amount. In some implementations, user datatransmitted from cloud network 110 to on-premises network 140 caninclude third-party user profiles that are non-unique, but that aredetermined to be linked or matched to certain first-party user recordsstored within on-premises network 140. In other implementations, theuser data transmitted from cloud network 110 to on-premises network 140can include user or profile features (and not the entire user record orprofile). In some implementations, a maximum total amount or size ofthird-party user data may be used to cap the exchanging of third-partyuser data between cloud network 110 and on-premises network 140. Themaximum total amount or size of third-party user data can be defined bya user of on-premises network 140 or by a user of cloud network 110. Insome implementations, when metering is performed (e.g., by both profilemeter 410-A of on-premises network 140 and profile meter 410-B of cloudnetwork 110), the type of computing device associated with thethird-party user data can also be tracked and capped. For example,tracking third-party user data representing SmartTV users may besegmented from tracking third-party user data representing mobile ordesktop users. Other types of third-party user data that can be stored,exchanged, tracked, or capped may include Internet of Things (IoT) data,vehicle telemetry associated with a driver, and other suitable types ofuser data. To illustrate and only as a non-limiting example, the maximumtotal may be 3 TB for third-party user data representing the behavior ofmobile device users.

FIG. 5 is a flowchart illustrating an example process 500. Process 500may be performed at least in part, for example, by on-premises network140 or any of the components described in FIG. 1, 2, or 3. Further, asan example, on-premises network 140 can perform process 500 to provide acompany with the capability to link its first-party user data withthird-party user data stored in data store 130 within cloud network 110.Process 500 enables data management system 120 to provide multi-tenantand compartmentalized cloud services securely to companies, withoutrequiring the companies to upload their first-party user data to cloudnetwork 110. Thus, the performance of cloud services on the first-partyuser data is local to on-premises network, and thus, more secure.Additionally, companies can be provided with the ability control thedata collection and profile linkages to the third-party user data storedin cloud network 110. From the perspective of on-premises network 140,the entire pool of first-party user data and linked third-party userdata can be viewed and is accessible in a single, local domain (e.g.,the domain of the on-premises network 140).

At block 510, on-premises network 140 can receive entity-controlledexecutable code from cloud network 110. For example, entity-controlledexecutable code can include code that, when executed by a server that islocal to on-premises network 140, the execution of the code may causeone or more cloud services to be performed locally within on-premisesnetwork 140. In some implementations, the execution of theentity-controlled executable code can be performed at a virtual privatecloud controlled by the company, instead of being performed aton-premises network 140. For instance, if the company owns its own datacenter within on-premises network 140, then the entity-controlledexecutable code may be performed within on-premises network 140. Inother situations, if the company leases a cloud implementation from, forexample, an Infrastructure as a Service company, then entity-controlledexecutable code can be transmitted to and executed within a virtualprivate cloud exclusively operated by the company.

At block 520, on-premises network 140 may execute the entity-controlledexecutable code, which also automatically configures a private pixelserver uniquely associated with on-premises network 140. The executionof the entity-controlled executable code may also automaticallyconfigure a first-party data store, such as first-party data store 230.

At block 530, on-premises network 140 may receive an indication (e.g.,in real-time) indicating that a user device has or is accessing thecompany's webpage or an associated webpage. For example, the loading ofthe webpage on the user device triggers a signal to the private pixelserver, which tracks the behavior of the webpage visitor.

At block 540, the private pixel server collects first-party user datafrom the user device that loaded and interacted with the webpage. Thefirst-party user data can be stored in a data store, such as first-partydata store 230. At block 550, a cloud service may be executed locallywithin on-premises network 140 (or within the virtual private cloudexclusively controlled by the company associated with on-premisesnetwork 140) to request third-party user data from data store 130. Thecloud service may include functionality for probabilistically ordeterministically linking first-party user records stored in first-partydata store 230 (which can include personally-identifiable information(PII)) with third-party user data stored in data store 130 (which isaggregated data that does not uniquely identify individual users). Atblock 560, on-premises network 140 can receive the linked third-partyuser data and store the third-party user data locally within on-premisesnetwork 140. The third-party user data may be used to enrich first-partyuser records stored locally within on-premises network 140.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart illustrating an example of a process 600 forlinking third-party user records stored in a cloud network withfirst-party user records stored in on-premises network 140, according tosome aspects of the present disclosure. Process 600 may be performed atleast in part, for example, by on-premises network 140, cloud network110 and/or any of the components described in FIG. 1, 2, or 3. Further,as an example, on-premises network 140 can perform process 600 tomonitor the amount of third-party user data that is received from cloudnetwork 110 as linked third-party user profiles.

At block 610, first-party user data can be stored within a firstnetwork, such as on-premises network 140. In some implementations, thefirst-party user data may be collected by a private pixel server andthen stored in first-party data store, such as first-party data store230. At block 620, third-party user data is stored at or uploaded tocloud network 110. In some implementations, data providers feedthird-party user data into data store 130 of cloud network 110. It willbe appreciated that data store 130 can also store first-party user data(e.g., first-party user data for users who have consented to have theirfirst-party user data uploaded to cloud network 110), second-party userdata, and/or third-party user data.

At block 630, a communication channel is established between on-premisesnetwork 140 and cloud network 110 for exchanging user records (e.g.,first-party, second-party, or third-party user records). For example, acommunication channel can be established by configuring an API toexchange user records (e.g., a portion of user attributes contained in afirst-party user record) between first-party data store 230, which islocal to on-premises network 140, and data store 130, which is acloud-based data store within cloud network 110.

At block 640, the communication channel can be configured to monitor thenumber (e.g., 10,000 non-unique third-party user records) or totalamount (e.g., 3 TB) of third-party user data that is transmitted fromdata store 130 of cloud network 110 to on-premises network 140. Themetering techniques described above can be implemented to monitor thenumber and/or the total amount of third-party user data that is receivedat on-premises network 140. For example, the communication channel canbe configured to trigger a profile meter to count the number and/or sizeof third-party user records when user records are exchanged over thecommunication channel. The communication channel can also be configuredto transmit a request for third-party user data from on-premises network140. At block 650, the number or total amount of third-party user datathat is received at on-premises network 140 is also monitored, forexample, using a profile meter implemented using executable codetriggered upon detecting user records received at on-premises network140.

At block 660, reconciliation system 430 can be configured to reconcilethe monitored number or total amount of third-party user data detectedat blocks 640 and 650. If the monitored number or total amount ofthird-party user data at blocks 640 and 650 are the same, then process600 continues to block 670, where an invoice is automatically generatedto charge the company associated with the on-premises network 140 forthe retrieved third-party user data. After the invoice is generatedcharging the company, the profile meters at on-premises network 140 andat cloud network 110 continue monitoring the number or total amount ofthird-party user data transmitted over the communication channel atblocks 640 and 650. If, however, the monitored number or total amount ofthird-party user data detected at blocks 640 and 650 is different, then,at block 680, reconciliation system 430 can be configured to reconcilethe difference, generate an invoice for the reconciled difference, andcontinue monitoring at blocks 640 and 650. Non-limiting examples ofreconciling different values at blocks 640 and 650 can include selectingthe lower value, selecting the higher value, generating an average orother combination of the two values, or other suitable technique fordetermining a reconciled value.

FIG. 7 depicts a simplified diagram of a distributed system 700 forimplementing one of the embodiments. In the illustrated embodiment,distributed system 700 includes one or more client computing devices702, 704, 706, and 708, which are configured to execute and operate aclient application such as a web browser, proprietary client (e.g.,Oracle Forms), or the like over one or more network(s) 710. Server 712may be communicatively coupled with remote client computing devices 702,704, 706, and 708 via network 710.

In various embodiments, server 712 may be adapted to run one or moreservices or software applications provided by one or more of thecomponents of the system. In some embodiments, these services may beoffered as web-based or cloud services or under a Software as a Service(SaaS) model to the users of client computing devices 702, 704, 706,and/or 708. Users operating client computing devices 702, 704, 706,and/or 708 may in turn utilize one or more client applications tointeract with server 712 to utilize the services provided by thesecomponents.

In the configuration depicted in the figure, the software components718, 720 and 722 of system 700 are shown as being implemented on server712. In other embodiments, one or more of the components of system 700and/or the services provided by these components may also be implementedby one or more of the client computing devices 702, 704, 706, and/or708. Users operating the client computing devices may then utilize oneor more client applications to use the services provided by thesecomponents. These components may be implemented in hardware, firmware,software, or combinations thereof. It should be appreciated that variousdifferent system configurations are possible, which may be differentfrom distributed system 700. The embodiment shown in the figure is thusone example of a distributed system for implementing an embodimentsystem and is not intended to be limiting.

Client computing devices 702, 704, 706, and/or 708 may be portablehandheld devices (e.g., an iPhone®, cellular telephone, an iPad®,computing tablet, a personal digital assistant (PDA)) or wearabledevices (e.g., a Google Glass® head mounted display), running softwaresuch as Microsoft Windows Mobile®, and/or a variety of mobile operatingsystems such as iOS, Windows Phone, Android, BlackBerry 10, Palm OS, andthe like, and being Internet, e-mail, short message service (SMS),Blackberry®, or other communication protocol enabled. The clientcomputing devices can be general purpose personal computers including,by way of example, personal computers and/or laptop computers runningvarious versions of Microsoft Windows®, Apple Macintosh®, and/or Linuxoperating systems. The client computing devices can be workstationcomputers running any of a variety of commercially-available UNIX® orUNIX-like operating systems, including without limitation the variety ofGNU/Linux operating systems, such as for example, Google Chrome OS.Alternatively, or in addition, client computing devices 702, 704, 706,and 708 may be any other electronic device, such as a thin-clientcomputer, an Internet-enabled gaming system (e.g., a Microsoft Xboxgaming console with or without a Kinect® gesture input device), and/or apersonal messaging device, capable of communicating over network(s) 710.

Although exemplary distributed system 700 is shown with four clientcomputing devices, any number of client computing devices may besupported. Other devices, such as devices with sensors, etc., mayinteract with server 712.

Network(s) 710 in distributed system 700 may be any type of networkfamiliar to those skilled in the art that can support datacommunications using any of a variety of commercially-availableprotocols, including without limitation TCP/IP (transmission controlprotocol/Internet protocol), SNA (systems network architecture), IPX(Internet packet exchange), AppleTalk, and the like. Merely by way ofexample, network(s) 710 can be a local area network (LAN), such as onebased on Ethernet, Token-Ring and/or the like. Network(s) 710 can be awide-area network and the Internet. It can include a virtual network,including without limitation a virtual private network (VPN), anintranet, an extranet, a public switched telephone network (PSTN), aninfra-red network, a wireless network (e.g., a network operating underany of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics (IEEE) 802.11 suiteof protocols, Bluetooth®, and/or any other wireless protocol); and/orany combination of these and/or other networks.

Server 712 may be composed of one or more general purpose computers,specialized server computers (including, by way of example, PC (personalcomputer) servers, UNIX® servers, mid-range servers, mainframecomputers, rack-mounted servers, etc.), server farms, server clusters,or any other appropriate arrangement and/or combination. In variousembodiments, server 712 may be adapted to run one or more services orsoftware applications described in the foregoing disclosure. Forexample, server 712 may correspond to a server for performing processingdescribed above according to an embodiment of the present disclosure.

Server 712 may run an operating system including any of those discussedabove, as well as any commercially available server operating system.Server 712 may also run any of a variety of additional serverapplications and/or mid-tier applications, including HTTP (hypertexttransport protocol) servers, FTP (file transfer protocol) servers, CGI(common gateway interface) servers, JAVA® servers, database servers, andthe like. Exemplary database servers include without limitation thosecommercially available from Oracle, Microsoft, Sybase, IBM(International Business Machines), and the like.

In some implementations, server 712 may include one or more applicationsto analyze and consolidate data feeds and/or event updates received fromusers of client computing devices 702, 704, 706, and 708. As an example,data feeds and/or event updates may include, but are not limited to,Twitter® feeds, Facebook® updates or real-time updates received from oneor more third party information sources and continuous data streams,which may include real-time events related to sensor data applications,financial tickers, network performance measuring tools (e.g., networkmonitoring and traffic management applications), clickstream analysistools, automobile traffic monitoring, and the like. Server 712 may alsoinclude one or more applications to display the data feeds and/orreal-time events via one or more display devices of client computingdevices 702, 704, 706, and 708.

Distributed system 700 may also include one or more databases 714 and716. Databases 714 and 716 may reside in a variety of locations. By wayof example, one or more of databases 714 and 716 may reside on anon-transitory storage medium local to (and/or resident in) server 712.Alternatively, databases 714 and 716 may be remote from server 712 andin communication with server 712 via a network-based or dedicatedconnection. In one set of embodiments, databases 714 and 716 may residein a storage-area network (SAN). Similarly, any necessary files forperforming the functions attributed to server 712 may be stored locallyon server 712 and/or remotely, as appropriate. In one set ofembodiments, databases 714 and 716 may include relational databases,such as databases provided by Oracle, that are adapted to store, update,and retrieve data in response to SQL-formatted commands.

FIG. 8 is a simplified block diagram of one or more components of asystem environment 800 by which services provided by one or morecomponents of an embodiment system may be offered as cloud services, inaccordance with an embodiment of the present disclosure. In theillustrated embodiment, system environment 800 includes one or moreclient computing devices 804, 806, and 808 that may be used by users tointeract with a cloud infrastructure system 802 that provides cloudservices. The client computing devices may be configured to operate aclient application such as a web browser, a proprietary clientapplication (e.g., Oracle Forms), or some other application, which maybe used by a user of the client computing device to interact with cloudinfrastructure system 802 to use services provided by cloudinfrastructure system 802.

It should be appreciated that cloud infrastructure system 802 depictedin the figure may have other components than those depicted. Further,the embodiment shown in the figure is only one example of a cloudinfrastructure system that may incorporate an embodiment of theinvention. In some other embodiments, cloud infrastructure system 802may have more or fewer components than shown in the figure, may combinetwo or more components, or may have a different configuration orarrangement of components.

Client computing devices 804, 806, and 808 may be devices similar tothose described above for 702, 704, 706, and 708.

Although exemplary system environment 800 is shown with three clientcomputing devices, any number of client computing devices may besupported. Other devices such as devices with sensors, etc. may interactwith cloud infrastructure system 802.

Network(s) 810 may facilitate communications and exchange of databetween clients 804, 806, and 808 and cloud infrastructure system 802.Each network may be any type of network familiar to those skilled in theart that can support data communications using any of a variety ofcommercially-available protocols, including those described above fornetwork(s) 710.

Cloud infrastructure system 802 may comprise one or more computersand/or servers that may include those described above for server 712.

In certain embodiments, services provided by the cloud infrastructuresystem may include a host of services that are made available to usersof the cloud infrastructure system on demand, such as online datastorage and backup solutions, Web-based e-mail services, hosted officesuites and document collaboration services, database processing, managedtechnical support services, and the like. Services provided by the cloudinfrastructure system can dynamically scale to meet the needs of itsusers. A specific instantiation of a service provided by cloudinfrastructure system is referred to herein as a “service instance.” Ingeneral, any service made available to a user via a communicationnetwork, such as the Internet, from a cloud service provider's system isreferred to as a “cloud service.” Typically, in a public cloudenvironment, servers and systems that make up the cloud serviceprovider's system are different from the customer's own on-premisesservers and systems. For example, a cloud service provider's system mayhost an application, and a user may, via a communication network such asthe Internet, on demand, order and use the application.

In some examples, a service in a computer network cloud infrastructuremay include protected computer network access to storage, a hosteddatabase, a hosted web server, a software application, or other serviceprovided by a cloud vendor to a user, or as otherwise known in the art.For example, a service can include password-protected access to remotestorage on the cloud through the Internet. As another example, a servicecan include a web service-based hosted relational database and ascript-language middleware engine for private use by a networkeddeveloper. As another example, a service can include access to an emailsoftware application hosted on a cloud vendor's web site.

In certain embodiments, cloud infrastructure system 802 may include asuite of applications, middleware, and database service offerings thatare delivered to a customer in a self-service, subscription-based,elastically scalable, reliable, highly available, and secure manner. Anexample of such a cloud infrastructure system is the Oracle Public Cloudprovided by the present assignee.

In various embodiments, cloud infrastructure system 802 may be adaptedto automatically provision, manage and track a customer's subscriptionto services offered by cloud infrastructure system 802. Cloudinfrastructure system 802 may provide the cloud services via differentdeployment models. For example, services may be provided under a publiccloud model in which cloud infrastructure system 802 is owned by anorganization selling cloud services (e.g., owned by Oracle) and theservices are made available to the general public or different industryenterprises. As another example, services may be provided under aprivate cloud model in which cloud infrastructure system 802 is operatedsolely for a single organization and may provide services for one ormore entities within the organization. The cloud services may also beprovided under a community cloud model in which cloud infrastructuresystem 802 and the services provided by cloud infrastructure system 802are shared by several organizations in a related community. The cloudservices may also be provided under a hybrid cloud model, which is acombination of two or more different models.

In some embodiments, the services provided by cloud infrastructuresystem 802 may include one or more services provided under Software as aService (SaaS) category, Platform as a Service (PaaS) category,Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) category, or other categories ofservices including hybrid services. A customer, via a subscriptionorder, may order one or more services provided by cloud infrastructuresystem 802. Cloud infrastructure system 802 then performs processing toprovide the services in the customer's subscription order.

In some embodiments, the services provided by cloud infrastructuresystem 802 may include, without limitation, application services,platform services and infrastructure services. In some examples,application services may be provided by the cloud infrastructure systemvia a SaaS platform. The SaaS platform may be configured to providecloud services that fall under the SaaS category. For example, the SaaSplatform may provide capabilities to build and deliver a suite ofon-demand applications on an integrated development and deploymentplatform. The SaaS platform may manage and control the underlyingsoftware and infrastructure for providing the SaaS services. Byutilizing the services provided by the SaaS platform, customers canutilize applications executing on the cloud infrastructure system.Customers can acquire the application services without the need forcustomers to purchase separate licenses and support. Various differentSaaS services may be provided. Examples include, without limitation,services that provide solutions for sales performance management,enterprise integration, and flexibility for large organizations.

In some embodiments, platform services may be provided by the cloudinfrastructure system via a PaaS platform. The PaaS platform may beconfigured to provide cloud services that fall under the PaaS category.Examples of platform services may include without limitation servicesthat enable organizations (such as Oracle) to consolidate existingapplications on a shared, common architecture, as well as the ability tobuild new applications that leverage the shared services provided by theplatform. The PaaS platform may manage and control the underlyingsoftware and infrastructure for providing the PaaS services. Customerscan acquire the PaaS services provided by the cloud infrastructuresystem without the need for customers to purchase separate licenses andsupport. Examples of platform services include, without limitation,Oracle Java Cloud Service (JCS), Oracle Database Cloud Service (DBCS),and others.

By utilizing the services provided by the PaaS platform, customers canemploy programming languages and tools supported by the cloudinfrastructure system and also control the deployed services. In someembodiments, platform services provided by the cloud infrastructuresystem may include database cloud services, middleware cloud services(e.g., Oracle Fusion Middleware services), and Java cloud services. Inone embodiment, database cloud services may support shared servicedeployment models that enable organizations to pool database resourcesand offer customers a Database as a Service in the form of a databasecloud. Middleware cloud services may provide a platform for customers todevelop and deploy various cloud applications, and Java cloud servicesmay provide a platform for customers to deploy Java applications, in thecloud infrastructure system.

Various different infrastructure services may be provided by an IaaSplatform in the cloud infrastructure system. The infrastructure servicesfacilitate the management and control of the underlying computingresources, such as storage, networks, and other fundamental computingresources for customers utilizing services provided by the SaaS platformand the PaaS platform.

In certain embodiments, cloud infrastructure system 802 may also includeinfrastructure resources 830 for providing the resources used to providevarious services to customers of the cloud infrastructure system. In oneembodiment, infrastructure resources 830 may include pre-integrated andoptimized combinations of hardware, such as servers, storage, andnetworking resources to execute the services provided by the PaaSplatform and the SaaS platform.

In some embodiments, resources in cloud infrastructure system 802 may beshared by multiple users and dynamically re-allocated per demand.Additionally, resources may be allocated to users in different timezones. For example, cloud infrastructure system 830 may enable a firstset of users in a first time zone to utilize resources of the cloudinfrastructure system for a specified number of hours and then enablethe re-allocation of the same resources to another set of users locatedin a different time zone, thereby maximizing the utilization ofresources.

In certain embodiments, a number of internal shared services 832 may beprovided that are shared by different components or modules of cloudinfrastructure system 802 and by the services provided by cloudinfrastructure system 802. These internal shared services may include,without limitation, a security and identity service, an integrationservice, an enterprise repository service, an enterprise managerservice, a virus scanning and white list service, a high availability,backup and recovery service, service for enabling cloud support, anemail service, a notification service, a file transfer service, and thelike.

In certain embodiments, cloud infrastructure system 802 may providecomprehensive management of cloud services (e.g., SaaS, PaaS, and IaaSservices) in the cloud infrastructure system. In one embodiment, cloudmanagement functionality may include capabilities for provisioning,managing and tracking a customer's subscription received by cloudinfrastructure system 802, and the like.

In one embodiment, as depicted in the figure, cloud managementfunctionality may be provided by one or more modules, such as an ordermanagement module 820, an order orchestration module 822, an orderprovisioning module 824, an order management and monitoring module 826,and an identity management module 828. These modules may include or beprovided using one or more computers and/or servers, which may begeneral purpose computers, specialized server computers, server farms,server clusters, or any other appropriate arrangement and/orcombination.

In exemplary operation 834, a customer using a client device, such asclient device 804, 806 or 808, may interact with cloud infrastructuresystem 802 by requesting one or more services provided by cloudinfrastructure system 802 and placing an order for a subscription forone or more services offered by cloud infrastructure system 802. Incertain embodiments, the customer may access a cloud User Interface(UI), cloud UI 812, cloud UI 814 and/or cloud UI 816 and place asubscription order via these Uls. The order information received bycloud infrastructure system 802 in response to the customer placing anorder may include information identifying the customer and one or moreservices offered by the cloud infrastructure system 802 that thecustomer intends to subscribe to.

After an order has been placed by the customer, the order information isreceived via the cloud UIs, 812, 814 and/or 816.

At operation 836, the order is stored in order database 818. Orderdatabase 818 can be one of several databases operated by cloudinfrastructure system 818 and operated in conjunction with other systemelements.

At operation 838, the order information is forwarded to an ordermanagement module 820. In some instances, order management module 820may be configured to perform billing and accounting functions related tothe order, such as verifying the order, and upon verification, bookingthe order.

At operation 840, information regarding the order is communicated to anorder orchestration module 822. Order orchestration module 822 mayutilize the order information to orchestrate the provisioning ofservices and resources for the order placed by the customer. In someinstances, order orchestration module 822 may orchestrate theprovisioning of resources to support the subscribed services using theservices of order provisioning module 824.

In certain embodiments, order orchestration module 822 enables themanagement of processes associated with each order and applies logic todetermine whether an order should proceed to provisioning. At operation842, upon receiving an order for a new subscription, order orchestrationmodule 822 sends a request to order provisioning module 824 to allocateresources and configure those resources needed to fulfill thesubscription order. Order provisioning module 824 enables the allocationof resources for the services ordered by the customer. Orderprovisioning module 824 provides a level of abstraction between thecloud services provided by cloud infrastructure system 800 and thephysical implementation layer that is used to provision the resourcesfor providing the requested services. Order orchestration module 822 maythus be isolated from implementation details, such as whether or notservices and resources are actually provisioned on the fly orpre-provisioned and only allocated/assigned upon request.

At operation 844, once the services and resources are provisioned, anotification of the provided service may be sent to customers on clientdevices 804, 806 and/or 808 by order provisioning module 824 of cloudinfrastructure system 802.

At operation 846, the customer's subscription order may be managed andtracked by an order management and monitoring module 826. In someinstances, order management and monitoring module 826 may be configuredto collect usage statistics for the services in the subscription order,such as the amount of storage used, the amount data transferred, thenumber of users, and the amount of system up time and system down time.

In certain embodiments, cloud infrastructure system 800 may include anidentity management module 828. Identity management module 828 may beconfigured to provide identity services, such as access management andauthorization services in cloud infrastructure system 800. In someembodiments, identity management module 828 may control informationabout customers who wish to utilize the services provided by cloudinfrastructure system 802. Such information can include information thatauthenticates the identities of such customers and information thatdescribes which actions those customers are authorized to performrelative to various system resources (e.g., files, directories,applications, communication ports, memory segments, etc.) Identitymanagement module 828 may also include the management of descriptiveinformation about each customer and about how and by whom thatdescriptive information can be accessed and modified.

FIG. 9 illustrates an exemplary computer system 900, in which variousembodiments of the present invention may be implemented. The system 900may be used to implement any of the computer systems described above. Asshown in the figure, computer system 900 includes a processing unit 904that communicates with a number of peripheral subsystems via a bussubsystem 902. These peripheral subsystems may include a processingacceleration unit 906, an I/O subsystem 908, a storage subsystem 918 anda communications subsystem 924. Storage subsystem 918 includes tangiblecomputer-readable storage media 922 and a system memory 910.

Bus subsystem 902 provides a mechanism for letting the variouscomponents and subsystems of computer system 900 communicate with eachother as intended. Although bus subsystem 902 is shown schematically asa single bus, alternative embodiments of the bus subsystem may utilizemultiple buses. Bus subsystem 902 may be any of several types of busstructures including a memory bus or memory controller, a peripheralbus, and a local bus using any of a variety of bus architectures. Forexample, such architectures may include an Industry StandardArchitecture (ISA) bus, Micro Channel Architecture (MCA) bus, EnhancedISA (EISA) bus, Video Electronics Standards Association (VESA) localbus, and Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) bus, which can beimplemented as a Mezzanine bus manufactured to the IEEE P1386.1standard.

Processing unit 904, which can be implemented as one or more integratedcircuits (e.g., a conventional microprocessor or microcontroller),controls the operation of computer system 900. One or more processorsmay be included in processing unit 904. These processors may includesingle core or multicore processors. In certain embodiments, processingunit 904 may be implemented as one or more independent processing units932 and/or 934 with single or multicore processors included in eachprocessing unit. In other embodiments, processing unit 904 may also beimplemented as a quad-core processing unit formed by integrating twodual-core processors into a single chip.

In various embodiments, processing unit 904 can execute a variety ofprograms in response to program code and can maintain multipleconcurrently executing programs or processes. At any given time, some orall of the program code to be executed can be resident in processor(s)904 and/or in storage subsystem 918. Through suitable programming,processor(s) 904 can provide various functionalities described above.Computer system 900 may additionally include a processing accelerationunit 906, which can include a digital signal processor (DSP), aspecial-purpose processor, and/or the like.

I/O subsystem 908 may include user interface input devices and userinterface output devices. User interface input devices may include akeyboard, pointing devices such as a mouse or trackball, a touchpad ortouch screen incorporated into a display, a scroll wheel, a click wheel,a dial, a button, a switch, a keypad, audio input devices with voicecommand recognition systems, microphones, and other types of inputdevices. User interface input devices may include, for example, motionsensing and/or gesture recognition devices such as the Microsoft Kinect®motion sensor that enables users to control and interact with an inputdevice, such as the Microsoft Xbox® 360 game controller, through anatural user interface using gestures and spoken commands. Userinterface input devices may also include eye gesture recognition devicessuch as the Google Glass® blink detector that detects eye activity(e.g., ‘blinking’ while taking pictures and/or making a menu selection)from users and transforms the eye gestures as input into an input device(e.g., Google Glass®). Additionally, user interface input devices mayinclude voice recognition sensing devices that enable users to interactwith voice recognition systems (e.g., Siri® navigator), through voicecommands.

User interface input devices may also include, without limitation, threedimensional (3D) mice, joysticks or pointing sticks, gamepads andgraphic tablets, and audio/visual devices such as speakers, digitalcameras, digital camcorders, portable media players, webcams, imagescanners, fingerprint scanners, barcode reader 3D scanners, 3D printers,laser rangefinders, and eye gaze tracking devices. Additionally, userinterface input devices may include, for example, medical imaging inputdevices such as computed tomography, magnetic resonance imaging,position emission tomography, medical ultrasonography devices. Userinterface input devices may also include, for example, audio inputdevices such as MIDI keyboards, digital musical instruments and thelike.

User interface output devices may include a display subsystem, indicatorlights, or non-visual displays such as audio output devices, etc. Thedisplay subsystem may be a cathode ray tube (CRT), a flat-panel device,such as that using a liquid crystal display (LCD) or plasma display, aprojection device, a touch screen, and the like. In general, use of theterm “output device” is intended to include all possible types ofdevices and mechanisms for outputting information from computer system900 to a user or other computer. For example, user interface outputdevices may include, without limitation, a variety of display devicesthat visually convey text, graphics and audio/video information such asmonitors, printers, speakers, headphones, automotive navigation systems,plotters, voice output devices, and modems.

Computer system 900 may comprise a storage subsystem 918 that comprisessoftware elements, shown as being currently located within a systemmemory 910. System memory 910 may store program instructions that areloadable and executable on processing unit 904, as well as datagenerated during the execution of these programs.

Depending on the configuration and type of computer system 900, systemmemory 910 may be volatile (such as random access memory (RAM)) and/ornon-volatile (such as read-only memory (ROM), flash memory, etc.) TheRAM typically contains data and/or program modules that are immediatelyaccessible to and/or presently being operated and executed by processingunit 904. In some implementations, system memory 910 may includemultiple different types of memory, such as static random access memory(SRAM) or dynamic random access memory (DRAM). In some implementations,a basic input/output system (BIOS), containing the basic routines thathelp to transfer information between elements within computer system900, such as during start-up, may typically be stored in the ROM. By wayof example, and not limitation, system memory 910 also illustratesapplication programs 912, which may include client applications, Webbrowsers, mid-tier applications, relational database management systems(RDBMS), etc., program data 914, and an operating system 916. By way ofexample, operating system 916 may include various versions of MicrosoftWindows®, Apple Macintosh®, and/or Linux operating systems, a variety ofcommercially-available UNIX® or UNIX-like operating systems (includingwithout limitation the variety of GNU/Linux operating systems, theGoogle Chrome® OS, and the like) and/or mobile operating systems such asiOS, Windows® Phone, Android® OS, BlackBerry® 10 OS, and Palm® OSoperating systems.

Storage subsystem 918 may also provide a tangible computer-readablestorage medium for storing the basic programming and data constructsthat provide the functionality of some embodiments. Software (programs,code modules, instructions) that when executed by a processor providethe functionality described above may be stored in storage subsystem918. These software modules or instructions may be executed byprocessing unit 904. Storage subsystem 918 may also provide a repositoryfor storing data used in accordance with the present invention.

Storage subsystem 900 may also include a computer-readable storage mediareader 920 that can further be connected to computer-readable storagemedia 922. Together and, optionally, in combination with system memory910, computer-readable storage media 922 may comprehensively representremote, local, fixed, and/or removable storage devices plus storagemedia for temporarily and/or more permanently containing, storing,transmitting, and retrieving computer-readable information.

Computer-readable storage media 922 containing code, or portions ofcode, can also include any appropriate media known or used in the art,including storage media and communication media, such as but not limitedto, volatile and non-volatile, removable and non-removable mediaimplemented in any method or technology for storage and/or transmissionof information. This can include tangible computer-readable storagemedia such as RAM, ROM, electronically erasable programmable ROM(EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technology, CD-ROM, digitalversatile disk (DVD), or other optical storage, magnetic cassettes,magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magnetic storage devices,or other tangible computer readable media. This can also includenontangible computer-readable media, such as data signals, datatransmissions, or any other medium which can be used to transmit thedesired information and which can be accessed by computing system 900.

By way of example, computer-readable storage media 922 may include ahard disk drive that reads from or writes to non-removable, nonvolatilemagnetic media, a magnetic disk drive that reads from or writes to aremovable, nonvolatile magnetic disk, and an optical disk drive thatreads from or writes to a removable, nonvolatile optical disk such as aCD ROM, DVD, and Blu-Ray® disk, or other optical media.Computer-readable storage media 922 may include, but is not limited to,Zip® drives, flash memory cards, universal serial bus (USB) flashdrives, secure digital (SD) cards, DVD disks, digital video tape, andthe like. Computer-readable storage media 922 may also include,solid-state drives (SSD) based on non-volatile memory such asflash-memory based SSDs, enterprise flash drives, solid state ROM, andthe like, SSDs based on volatile memory such as solid state RAM, dynamicRAM, static RAM, DRAM-based SSDs, magnetoresistive RAM (MRAM) SSDs, andhybrid SSDs that use a combination of DRAM and flash memory based SSDs.The disk drives and their associated computer-readable media may providenon-volatile storage of computer-readable instructions, data structures,program modules, and other data for computer system 900.

Communications subsystem 924 provides an interface to other computersystems and networks. Communications subsystem 924 serves as aninterface for receiving data from and transmitting data to other systemsfrom computer system 900. For example, communications subsystem 924 mayenable computer system 900 to connect to one or more devices via theInternet. In some embodiments communications subsystem 924 can includeradio frequency (RF) transceiver components for accessing wireless voiceand/or data networks (e.g., using cellular telephone technology,advanced data network technology, such as 3G, 4G or EDGE (enhanced datarates for global evolution), WiFi (IEEE 1202.11 family standards, orother mobile communication technologies, or any combination thereof),global positioning system (GPS) receiver components, and/or othercomponents. In some embodiments communications subsystem 924 can providewired network connectivity (e.g., Ethernet) in addition to or instead ofa wireless interface.

In some embodiments, communications subsystem 924 may also receive inputcommunication in the form of structured and/or unstructured data feeds926, event streams 928, event updates 930, and the like on behalf of oneor more users who may use computer system 900.

By way of example, communications subsystem 924 may be configured toreceive data feeds 926 in real-time from users of social networks and/orother communication services such as Twitter® feeds, Facebook® updates,web feeds such as Rich Site Summary (RSS) feeds, and/or real-timeupdates from one or more third party information sources.

Additionally, communications subsystem 924 may also be configured toreceive data in the form of continuous data streams, which may includeevent streams 928 of real-time events and/or event updates 930, that maybe continuous or unbounded in nature with no explicit end. Examples ofapplications that generate continuous data may include, for example,sensor data applications, financial tickers, network performancemeasuring tools (e.g. network monitoring and traffic managementapplications), clickstream analysis tools, automobile trafficmonitoring, and the like.

Communications subsystem 924 may also be configured to output thestructured and/or unstructured data feeds 926, event streams 928, eventupdates 930, and the like to one or more databases that may be incommunication with one or more streaming data source computers coupledto computer system 900.

Computer system 900 can be one of various types, including a handheldportable device (e.g., an iPhone® cellular phone, an iPad® computingtablet, a PDA), a wearable device (e.g., a Google Glass® head mounteddisplay), a PC, a workstation, a mainframe, a kiosk, a server rack, orany other data processing system.

Due to the ever-changing nature of computers and networks, thedescription of computer system 900 depicted in the figure is intendedonly as a specific example. Many other configurations having more orfewer components than the system depicted in the figure are possible.For example, customized hardware might also be used and/or particularelements might be implemented in hardware, firmware, software (includingapplets), or a combination. Further, connection to other computingdevices, such as network input/output devices, may be employed. Based onthe disclosure and teachings provided herein, a person of ordinary skillin the art will appreciate other ways and/or methods to implement thevarious embodiments.

In the foregoing specification, aspects of the invention are describedwith reference to specific embodiments thereof, but those skilled in theart will recognize that the invention is not limited thereto. Variousfeatures and aspects of the above-described invention may be usedindividually or jointly. Further, embodiments can be utilized in anynumber of environments and applications beyond those described hereinwithout departing from the broader spirit and scope of thespecification. The specification and drawings are, accordingly, to beregarded as illustrative rather than restrictive.

What is claimed is:
 1. A computer-implemented method comprising: storinga plurality of first-party user records within a first network, eachfirst-party user record of the plurality of first-party user recordsincluding one or more first-party user features, and each first-partyuser feature of the one or more first-party user features beinggenerated based on an interaction between a user device and the firstnetwork; storing a plurality of third-party user records within a cloudnetwork, each third-party user record of the plurality of third-partyuser records including one or more third-party user features, and eachthird-party user feature of the one or more third-party user featuresbeing generated based on an interaction between a user device and asecond network; establishing a communication channel between the firstnetwork and the cloud network, the communication channel beingconfigured to transmit a first-party user feature from the first networkto the cloud network or a third-party user record from the cloud networkto the first network; detecting a communication over the communicationchannel, the communication originating from the first network, thecommunication corresponding to a request to map a first-party userrecord of the plurality of first-party user records to one or morethird-party user records stored within the cloud network; monitoring anumber of the one or more third-party user records received from thecloud network in response to the request from the first network, themonitoring being performed at each of the first network and the cloudnetwork; determining that the number of the one or more third-party userrecords received by the first network matches the number of the one ormore third-party user records transmitted by the cloud network;generating a value based on the number of the one or more third-partyuser records received by the first network that matched the number ofthe one or more third-party user records transmitted by the cloudnetwork; and exchanging the value from the first network for the one ormore third-party user records transmitted by the cloud network.
 2. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, further comprising: determiningwhether a maximum value associated with the first network has beenexceeded, the maximum value being defined by a user associated with thefirst network; wherein: when the maximum value has not been exceeded,proceeding with processing the request received by the first network;and when the maximum value has been exceeded, denying the request to mapthe first-party user record to the one or more third-party user recordsstored within the cloud network, and transmitting a signal over thecommunication channel to the first network, the signal indicating thatthe request has been denied.
 3. The computer-implemented method of claim2, wherein the maximum value is defined by the user accessing aninterface associated with the first network, the interface enabling theuser to define a configuration of one or more cloud services provided bythe cloud network.
 4. The computer-implemented method of claim 1,wherein the first network is an on-premises network or a virtual privatecloud network, wherein the plurality of first-party user records aregenerated in response to one or more user devices navigating a web pagehosted by the first network.
 5. The computer-implemented method of claim1, wherein the monitoring of the number of the one or more third-partyuser records received by the first network includes using acode-implemented meter executed at the first network.
 6. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the monitoring of thenumber of the one or more third-party user records transmitted by thecloud network includes using a code-implemented meter executed at thecloud network.
 7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, whereinthe monitoring further comprises: detecting the number of the one ormore third-party user records received by the first network; detectingthe number of the one or more third-party user records transmitted bythe cloud network; comparing the number of the one or more third-partyuser records received by the first network with the number of the one ormore third-party user records transmitted by the cloud network; andgenerating the value based on the comparison.
 8. A system, comprising:one or more processors; and a non-transitory computer-readable storagemedium containing instructions which, when executed on the one or moreprocessors, cause the one or more processors to perform operationsincluding: storing a plurality of first-party user records within afirst network, each first-party user record of the plurality offirst-party user records including one or more first-party userfeatures, and each first-party user feature of the one or morefirst-party user features being generated based on an interactionbetween a user device and the first network; storing a plurality ofthird-party user records within a cloud network, each third-party userrecord of the plurality of third-party user records including one ormore third-party user features, and each third-party user feature of theone or more third-party user features being generated based on aninteraction between a user device and a second network; establishing acommunication channel between the first network and the cloud network,the communication channel being configured to transmit a first-partyuser feature from the first network to the cloud network or athird-party user record from the cloud network to the first network;detecting a communication over the communication channel, thecommunication originating from the first network, the communicationcorresponding to a request to map a first-party user record of theplurality of first-party user records to one or more third-party userrecords stored within the cloud network; monitoring a number of the oneor more third-party user records received from the cloud network inresponse to the request from the first network, the monitoring beingperformed at each of the first network and the cloud network;determining that the number of the one or more third-party user recordsreceived by the first network matches the number of the one or morethird-party user records transmitted by the cloud network; generating avalue based on the number of the one or more third-party user recordsreceived by the first network that matched the number of the one or morethird-party user records transmitted by the cloud network; andexchanging the value from the first network for the one or morethird-party user records transmitted by the cloud network.
 9. The systemof claim 8, wherein the operations further comprise: determining whethera maximum value associated with the first network has been exceeded, themaximum value being defined by a user associated with the first network;wherein: when the maximum value has not been exceeded, proceeding withprocessing the request received by the first network; and when themaximum value has been exceeded, denying the request to map thefirst-party user record to the one or more third-party user recordsstored within the cloud network, and transmitting a signal over thecommunication channel to the first network, the signal indicating thatthe request has been denied.
 10. The system of claim 9, wherein themaximum value is defined by the user accessing an interface associatedwith the first network, the interface enabling the user to define aconfiguration of one or more cloud services provided by the cloudnetwork.
 11. The system of claim 8, wherein the first network is anon-premises network or a virtual private cloud network, wherein theplurality of first-party user records are generated in response to oneor more user devices navigating a web page hosted by the first network.12. The system of claim 8, wherein the monitoring of the number of theone or more third-party user records received by the first networkincludes using a code-implemented meter executed at the first network.13. The system of claim 8, wherein the monitoring of the number of theone or more third-party user records transmitted by the cloud networkincludes using a code-implemented meter executed at the cloud network.14. The system of claim 8, wherein the operation of monitoring furthercomprises: detecting the number of the one or more third-party userrecords received by the first network; detecting the number of the oneor more third-party user records transmitted by the cloud network;comparing the number of the one or more third-party user recordsreceived by the first network with the number of the one or morethird-party user records transmitted by the cloud network; andgenerating the value based on the comparison.
 15. A computer-programproduct tangibly embodied in a non-transitory machine-readable storagemedium, including instructions configured to cause a processingapparatus to perform operations including: storing a plurality offirst-party user records within a first network, each first-party userrecord of the plurality of first-party user records including one ormore first-party user features, and each first-party user feature of theone or more first-party user features being generated based on aninteraction between a user device and the first network; storing aplurality of third-party user records within a cloud network, eachthird-party user record of the plurality of third-party user recordsincluding one or more third-party user features, and each third-partyuser feature of the one or more third-party user features beinggenerated based on an interaction between a user device and a secondnetwork; establishing a communication channel between the first networkand the cloud network, the communication channel being configured totransmit a first-party user feature from the first network to the cloudnetwork or a third-party user record from the cloud network to the firstnetwork; detecting a communication over the communication channel, thecommunication originating from the first network, the communicationcorresponding to a request to map a first-party user record of theplurality of first-party user records to one or more third-party userrecords stored within the cloud network; monitoring a number of the oneor more third-party user records received from the cloud network inresponse to the request from the first network, the monitoring beingperformed at each of the first network and the cloud network;determining that the number of the one or more third-party user recordsreceived by the first network matches the number of the one or morethird-party user records transmitted by the cloud network; generating avalue based on the number of the one or more third-party user recordsreceived by the first network that matched the number of the one or morethird-party user records transmitted by the cloud network; andexchanging the value from the first network for the one or morethird-party user records transmitted by the cloud network.
 16. Thecomputer-program product of claim 15, wherein the operations furthercomprise: determining whether a maximum value associated with the firstnetwork has been exceeded, the maximum value being defined by a userassociated with the first network; wherein: when the maximum value hasnot been exceeded, proceeding with processing the request received bythe first network; and when the maximum value has been exceeded, denyingthe request to map the first-party user record to the one or morethird-party user records stored within the cloud network, andtransmitting a signal over the communication channel to the firstnetwork, the signal indicating that the request has been denied.
 17. Thecomputer-program product of claim 16, wherein the maximum value isdefined by the user accessing an interface associated with the firstnetwork, the interface enabling the user to define a configuration ofone or more cloud services provided by the cloud network.
 18. Thecomputer-program product of claim 15, wherein the first network is anon-premises network or a virtual private cloud network, wherein theplurality of first-party user records are generated in response to oneor more user devices navigating a web page hosted by the first network.19. The computer-program product of claim 15, wherein the monitoring ofthe number of the one or more third-party user records received by thefirst network includes using a code-implemented meter executed at thefirst network.
 20. The computer-program product of claim 15, wherein themonitoring of the number of the one or more third-party user recordstransmitted by the cloud network includes using a code-implemented meterexecuted at the cloud network.